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The prototype jet took a 33-minute roundtrip flight from an air drive base within the southern metropolis of Sacheon, stated South Korea’s Protection Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA).
The pilot, Maj. Ahn Jun-hyun, admitted to being nervous beforehand, however stated that after take off “all the things went easily so I flew the entire flight route as deliberate.”
The jet is the primary of a fleet of six KF-21 prototypes made by Korea Aerospace Industries that may conduct greater than 2,000 take a look at flights from now till 2026, when mass manufacturing and deployment will start, DAPA stated.
A complete of 120 jets are anticipated to be delivered to the South Korean air drive by 2030.
As soon as operational, the KF-21 is anticipated to be armed with a variety of air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles — and presumably even air-launched cruise missiles. The dual-engine fighters will are available in single- and two-seat variations.
On Tuesday, the jet was outfitted with 4 mock-up Meteor air-to-air missiles and an infrared search-and-track system, and reached speeds of round 400 kilometers per hour (250 mph).
The KF-21 is a joint venture between South Korea and Indonesia by which Seoul holds 80% of shares.
Whereas solely 65% of the KF-21’s components are of South Korean origin, its maiden flight nonetheless marks a major achievement for a rustic that does not have a prolonged historical past of plane manufacturing.
The one different international locations to have developed and flown a sophisticated supersonic jet fighter are the USA, Russia, China, Japan, France, Sweden and a European consortium of the UK, Germany, Italy and Spain.
Of these, solely the US and China have deployed domestic-made fifth-generation fighter jets — planes that characteristic stealth applied sciences, radar-jamming capabilities and avionics that combine onboard and distant knowledge to provide pilots a real-time image of their operation, in accordance with NATO’s Joint Air Energy Competence Middle.
Whereas the DAPA calls the KF-21 a 4.5-generation fighter jet as a result of it lacks such options as an inside weapons bay that will make it extra stealthy, analysts say it might be able to fly greater and quicker than the most recent US-made fifth-generation fighter, the F-35.
“The KF-21 is the primary fighter plane made with home know-how, and it signifies that South Korea is now in a position to construct fighter plane by itself. It’s going to even be a stepping stone to develop higher fighter plane and function regionally developed arms,” DAPA stated final 12 months.
Peter Layton, a fellow on the Griffith Asia Institute in Australia, on Wednesday referred to as the KF-21’s flight an “spectacular” milestone.
“This system has considerably enhanced South Korean aerospace capabilities significantly in design, manufacture, airframe parts and avionic techniques,” stated Layton, a former Royal Australian Air Power officer.
The KF-21 is anticipated to switch South Korea’s F-4 and F-5 fighters, third-generation US-designed jets launched within the Sixties.
As manufacturing runs are elevated, it might additionally exchange South Korea’s fourth-generation F-16s and F-15Ks, Abraham Ait, chief editor of Navy Watch Journal, wrote in The Diplomat in 2020.
South Korea additionally operates F-35 stealth fighters.
Layton stated when operational the KF-21 would enhance South Korea’s defensive and offensive capabilities within the air.
“Given the parlous state of the growing old North Korean air drive fighters, the KF-21 significantly over matches them,” he stated.
Layton stated South Korea’s F-35s have superior stealth capabilities to the KF-21 and are higher to penetrate an enemy’s radars.
“The (South Korean) air drive will then have a mixture of F-35s for strike operations and KF-21s for air protection operations. This idea makes good use of the F-35, which is optimized for attacking floor targets whereas the KF-21 has been optimized for air-to-air missions,” he stated.
The KF-21 has important export potential as a result of it’s anticipated to be cheaper than the F-35s the US sells to overseas militaries.
Thailand, the Philippines, and presumably even Iraq “might be main purchasers for the fighter,” Ait wrote, including that every of these international locations operates the identical sort of plane the KF-21 has been designed to switch. These international locations even have been clients for South Korea’s indigenously developed FA-50 light-attack fighter.
President Yoon stated after Tuesday’s take a look at that “a turning level has been created for the growth of our protection business exports.”
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